EFFICACY OF SPONTANEOUS PRONE POSITION IN PATIENTS WITH COVID-19

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic, a disease caused by the SARS-Cov-2 virus, has generated a complex scenario in the context of global health, the severe form of Covid-19 brings with it repercussions on systems, especially the cardiorespiratory system, with high changes in its functionality. Symptoms such as fever, cough, dyspnea, loss of taste and smell, myalgia and the presence of respiratory secretions are common in infected patients. In some cases, manifestations may arise even more aggressively, which may progress to severe cases of respiratory failure. In this context, physiotherapy acts directly in intensive care units, especially in the management of respiratory disorders and conduction of ventilatory support. In the search for strategies that proved to be effective in improving hypoxemia in severe cases of Covid-19, the spontaneous prone position stood out for providing improved lung ventilation through the action of gravity. Thus, this study aimed to describe the effects of spontaneous prone position as a resource to improve oxygenation in patients with Covid-19 through an integrative literature review. It was possible to observe that the spontaneous prone position in patients with Covid-19 gained prominence for providing the improvement of hypoxemia and significantly reducing the risks of orotracheal intubation.